The 2012 Glamour Women of the Year awards were held last night in New York City to honor some of the most accomplished members of the “fairer sex,” as ladies have been traditionally called. Yet, these trailblazers of the female gender hail from a range of fields that defy stereotypical roles. From Olympic champions to award-winning architects, Glamour’s Women of the Year were as stunning on the red carpet as they are impressive in their careers.

The honorees were, “Jenna Lyons, president and executive creative director of J.Crew; iconic photographer Annie Leibovitz; architect Zaha Hadid, the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize, her field’s highest honor; sexual abuse survivor and activist Erin Merryn; Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, whose documentary on acid violence against women in Pakistan has helped bring perpetrators to justice and won the 2012 Oscar for Best Documentary Film; Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; mother-daughter humanitarians Ethel and Rory Kennedy; Girls creator and star Lena Dunham; actress Selena Gomez, of Wizards of Waverly Place fame and five of the women who brought home gold from the London Olympics,” according to The Huffington Post.

Gabby Douglas looked fresh and pretty in an ivory dress by Tibi, while Allyson Felix wore a “strapless black mermaid Vera Wang gown and a red lip,” making her “one of the best dressed of the night,” according to The Fashion Bomb blog.

Other black stars joined in the festivities either in the audience or presenting awards, including Solange Knowles, Mary J. Blige, Gail King, Newark mayor Cory Booker, Tyra Banks, and hitmaker Pharrell Williams. Pharrell made his appearance in a tiny mustache and goatee — certainly the biggest fashion surprise of the night!

When asked what she loved most about being a woman, Gabby Douglas told HuffPost Women, “I just appreciate that I can inspire so many young girls and just tell them that anything is possible and follow your dreams and don’t ever stop.

“Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it because you really can,” she said.